Astoria's Decision
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Astoria has to figure some things out.


**Title:** Astoria's Decision  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Pairing(s)/Character(s):** Astoria/Tonks  
 **Warnings:** None  
 **Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.  
 **Word Count:** 1,066  
 **Summary:** Astoria has to figure some things out.

 **Notes:**

 **The Great 2016 Cotillion Challenge**

 **Big Damn Prompt Race Competition:** 5\. Emotion: jealousy

 **Ultimate Patronus Quest Challenge:** Special Class H. Magical & Mystica Creatures - 16. Pukwudgie: Write a story about Astoria Greengrass

 **Making Matches:** Pairing - AstoriaTonks / Prompt - Word: intimidating

* * *

Jealousy churned in Astoria's stomach. She knew it wasn't really fair, considering she was still pretending to be in love with Draco, but she couldn't help the way she felt.

"Do you still love him?" Astoria softly asked. She didn't even _try_ to sound intimidating. That had always been Daphne's thing, but Astoria could never pull it off.

Dora ran a hand through her presently brown hair. "Remus was my husband. Of course I still love him."

Logically, Astoria knew that was reasonable. Why was it bothering her so much, especially when she still had one foot in this relationship and one foot with Draco? She thought about the possible reasons really hard.

Dora watched her with careful eyes. "Astoria, you knew what you were getting into when you first kissed me. Not only was I married and lost my husband in the war, but I also have a son. You swore to me you were okay with all of that. Was that I lie?"

"I don't know," Astoria mumbled. "I don't know why I'm jealous, but I am. I just don't understand it."

Dora bitterly laughed, and it wasn't a pretty sound. " _You're_ jealous? Are you kidding me? You're still engaged to Draco Malfoy! My second cousin! Not only do you refuse to commit to me, but I'm also the other woman. Your dirty secret. I have to read The Daily Prophet and see your picture, along with Malfoy's, on the front cover. And there are always speculations about when you two will be married, and who will be attending, and I'm forced to bite my tongue so I don't shout out in public that you're mine. And _you're_ jealous? Of a man who's dead? If anyone has the right to be jealous, it's me!" When she finished, she was panting heavily, her face red from her impassioned speech.

Astoria blinked. "I never knew you felt like that."

"Then your blind," Dora retorted, still angry. Magic was practically crackling off of her and she worked to suppress you emotions before a bout of accidental magic happened.

"Then why are we doing this?" Astoria quietly asked.

"Because we love each other. But I need to know one thing because I think it's only fair that you tell me. How long will I have to wait before you finally make up your mind about who you want? I need to know if I should just work on moving on and forget we ever tried this thing."

Astoria didn't know what to say. So her answer was nonverbal as she turned around and fled. It was what she did. When things got hard and too serious, Astoria ran away to regroup. Daphne once accused her of being flighty, and it was not meant to be a compliment.

She denied it at the time, but looking back, Daphne had been very apt in her assessment of Astoria's personality.

She spent two days, thinking about everything. She thought about her feelings for Dora and her feelings for Draco. She compared them to each other. She thought about how she felt about Dora once being married to someone and now being a mother and pondered if she could truly handle the realities of being in a relationship with a mother. Teddy would always come first—like he should—but Astoria thought about whether she was selfless enough to be okay with taking a backseat to a child that wasn't her own. And then she thought about why she was still with Draco when her heart was with another.

And she realized her reasons for everything. And thus, she figured out what she wanted.

As soon as she knew what she was feeling, she went to Draco and broke up with him. "I'm sorry, Draco. I tried to be with you because it was expected of me, but I can't keep lying to myself or you."

"I love you," Draco murmured heartbrokenly.

Her stomach clenched as she knew it was the first time he said that statement to someone that wasn't family. And it made her feel even worse when she said the next thing, but she wanted him to hear it from _her_ and not the media. "I love someone else. A woman. I never meant to hurt you, and I should have been honest with you right away. I hope, one day, you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

She gave him back the ring he presented her with all those months ago, and with that, she walked out of Draco's life. Maybe one day, they could be friends, but she knew it wouldn't be any time soon.

Her next stop was to see Dora. When Astoria's girlfriend greeted her at the door, a sleeping Teddy in her arms, Astoria started without any preamble. "I thought I would forever be competing with a ghost, and I'd never measure up in your eyes or your heart. I thought you'd always find me lacking in comparison to your late husband, and I couldn't handle the fact that I'd never be enough for you. That's why I clung to Draco so desperately. I broke up with him two hours ago, though. I'm single. I'm jumping into us with both feet now. And I choose you." With a slightly unsure tone, she added, "If you still want me, that is."

Dora smiled. "Astoria, I never meant to make you feel like you were a poor consolation prize since I lost Remus. Yes, I loved Remus. I still love him as my late husband and the father of my son. I will always love him in a special way. But my feelings for Remus do not detract from my feelings for you. I have room in my heart for both of you. Remus has a very special compartment in my heart; it's a place he'll always inhabit, but you have another compartment. You're not in competition with him at all, and I thought you knew that, but I guess I was wrong."

Astoria felt tears come to her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Dora smiled slightly, her hair turning a familiar bubblegum pink color. "Do you want to come in?"

Astoria took a deep breath and nodded. She stepped though the doorway. This was the first day of the rest of her life, and she was determined to spend it with Dora and Teddy.


End file.
